Recently in Men's Soccer Category

Highlights and interviews with New York Red Bull and former St. John's standout Connor Lade and Red Bull head coach Hans Backe following a preseason game against the New England Revolution. (Video courtesy of Red Bulls Insider)

The first fracture occurred his junior year in 2008. After making three starts in seven games, he sat out the rest of the season with fractures in both feet.

Fresh off rehab last year as a redshirt junior, he tallied three goals and one assist in 13 games before the third fracture sidelined him.

Himeno, whose parents live in New Jersey, spent this past summer in Queens. In addition to preparing for the upcoming season, he also lent a helping hand at the St. John's soccer camp.

"It kind of put me back to how I acted when I was young. The kids [ages 6-14] had a pretty hard time paying attention to the coaches," he said. "I really just tried to get them to have fun and to make the game more enjoyable for them."

The guidance he gave the youngsters is similar to what Red Storm Coach Dave Masur instilled in Himeno.

"He [Masur] has made a big influence in how I've played," Himeno said. "He's always supporting me, and his coaching points are very good."

A soccer father to Himeno, Masur has guided Himeno's growth since his freshman year. "On and off the field, I can talk to him about anything," Himeno said.

It is the ability and willingness to accept life as it comes that makes him so well-adjusted to new surroundings. After being born in Japan, Himeno has lived in various places: Los Angeles, Atlanta, New Jersey, and now, New York.

"Coming out of high school, I narrowed my choices down to St. John's and UNC-Wilmington," he said. "I chose St. John's for the atmosphere of being in New York. I wanted to try something new, and New York has been great."

Himeno has always been known as a great talent. He started every game his freshman and sophomore seasons and accumulated 12 goals in his four years. Now, he is finally healthy in his last season of collegiate soccer.

"I'm very excited," he said. "We have a great group of new guys coming in; plus, a lot of experienced guys are back."

Fifteen new players will join the squad this year as part of the College Soccer News No. 12 recruiting class. The 11 returning players scored 20 of St. John's 25 goals last season and consist of six starters.

This year, the Red Storm are ranked No. 17 and No. 15 in the NSCAA and Soccer America preseason polls, respectively. After setting a record with their eighth BIG EAST Tournament title in 2009, expectations are even higher coming into this season.

"Not winning the BIG EAST Tournament would be very disappointing. We expect to win every game so coming up short would be seen as a failure," Himeno said. "The team works very hard. I think we can go very far in the NCAA Tournament this year."

No matter how the Red Storm perform on the field, Himeno has taken steps off the field to ensure a successful future. He will complete his first year in the MBA program as a redshirt senior.

"I hope I get the chance to play professionally after this year," he said. "If not, I will finish grad school and go into executive or business management."

In our preseason games the team put together some good performances heading into opening day at Indiana. A lot of our hard work put in before the preseason and during it was seen in those games. The freshman on the team were able to get a real taste of college soccer and the speed of the games. In our final preseason game, we didn't do as well as we would have liked in a 1-0 defeat at Lehigh. How we respond to that defeat will be seen during the Indiana game.

In 2008 we knocked Indiana out of the NCAA Tournament in a game they feel was stolen from them. At their field, on opening day, they are going to come out with revenge on their minds. We won last year after falling behind 2-0 because we continually stuck together, worked hard, and showed a tremendous amount of heart. This year we are hoping to show those qualities against them for the whole game. If we can do that, then there is no reason why we can't win against one of the best teams in college soccer.-D.Reed #3

What's up everyone? It's David Reed again from the men's soccer team. Now that July is here we are coming into the home stretch before preseason. My workouts have been getting better and better each time I hit the track. After being sidelined with my injury for most of the spring, I finally feel like I'm getting back into proper shape. We all are striving to get fit so that we can play our type of soccer; the type that helped us reach the College Cup a year ago. It all starts with the effort that we put in during the summer.

More guys from our team are back now which is a huge plus. The more people we have coming up here early the better, because it helps us to push each other and come together on the field. We are able to work on the things we need to work on more efficiently as a team so that we can execute in high pressure situations throughout the season.

A perfect example of this was the recent success of the US National Team in the FIFA Confederations Cup. The squad, with head coach Bob Bradley, was able to execute by putting in the proper planning and effort. Ultimately the more we run, play and push ourselves now, the more it will pay off for us like it did for our National Team.

What's up everyone? This isDavid Reed from the men's soccer team. I was hurt throughout the spring and missed out on a lot of the team's activities. I recently got back into running and I am more determined than ever to get in shape and make a difference for our team.

A few of the older players and myself have been running and playing with our summer teams to get in shape for the upcoming season. So far the workouts have been good. We have been pushing each other to get better and better.

The summer is a vital period for each individual on our team. To some it may seem early that we are already running to get fit again. But in our eyes it's never too early to start working hard for our season and ultimately to reach our main goal; a National Championship.